Will Bronson ’08 Runs for Congress

Will Bronson, who earned his DMin from EDS in 2008, is running for US Congress in FL 17. We asked him a few questions and below are a few of his answers. You can learn more at his campaign website, www.bronsonforcongress.com.

What lead you to run for Congress?

This year I realized that there was no one willing to run against the Republican incumbent in the new district FL17. I had been reading Naomi Klein’s excellent book, The Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism and felt a karmic responsibility to weigh in on the Democratic side.

You’ve done a lot of different things in your life, how do you think they prepared you for the task ahead of you?

My main qualification is the empathy I have developed for the down, but not quite out. Having lost my pension due to Delta Airline’s bankruptcy and infidelity to its pensioners, being caught in the downdraft of the Florida housing bust brought on by the casino capitalists on Wall Street, and watching my own children struggling for employment and a life in this down economy; I have analyzed the problem and see it as related to the massive income inequality that has occurred in the last 40 years in the U.S.

What has most surprised you on the campaign trail?

I am amazed at the success of the opposition in convincing so many that the government is the problem and lower taxes and regulations are the answer. If income distribution was the same today as it was in 1970, the average American family would have an extra $42,000 per year income. And high end income taxes in 1970 was 70%.

What would be your highest priority if you were elected?

Clearly, the system will not change as long as lobbyists are successful in creating the current environment that tilts the playing field precipitously toward the rich. There must be tougher campaign laws, public funding of public elections, restraints on lobbying practices, and honest politicians who can’t be bought and sold. We also need a new vision of government as our partner in creating the economy, environment, jobs, education, and life we all want. Privatization is not the answer.

How does your experience at EDS inform your run for congress?

At EDS I was reconnected with the Biblical priority for the poor. I was better able to better see our history as a long battle between rich and poor, between unions and capitalists, between the exploiters and the exploited. As Warren Buffett said recently: “It’s class warfare, my class is winning, but they shouldn’t be.”